“Veronica Mars’ ” Ryan Hansen finds himself on the flipside of the s**t-talking game in “Who Invited Them” (Shudder), a short, sweet and watchable – but ultimately not original – horror film. As Dick Casablancas, Hansen was a villain, but a likable, human one. His specific charms translated well to “Play It Again, Dick” (where he played “himself”) and other quirky roles.
Parties can be awkward
In “Who Invited Them,” he has the deceptively simple job of playing Adam, a basic nice dude who moves with wife Margo (Melissa Tang) to a house in the hills. He doesn’t tell her the dark reason why he got a great deal on the abode – one of those understandable fibs we forgive a Hansen character for. Especially when he makes his facial expression more likable than punchable.
The premise from writer-director Duncan Birmingham is hooky: Adam and Margo’s housewarming party includes one unknown couple. Adam thinks they’re Margo’s friends, and vice versa. It turns out Tom (Timothy Granaderos) and Sasha (“In the Dark’s” Perry Matfeld) are the neighbors.
“Who Invited Them” (2022)
Director: Duncan Birmingham
Writer: Duncan Birmingham
Starring: Ryan Hansen, Melissa Tang, Perry Matfeld
It’s weird that they’ve popped in, but I guess not that weird. It’s worth giving them the benefit of the doubt and getting to know them, Adam figures. We, as viewers, companionably agree. “Who Invited Them” becomes an exercise in awkwardness, wherein host Adam smoothly puts the best face on this situation and invites the neighbors to stay for a nightcap. Margo isn’t as smooth, but a line of cocaine loosens her up.
Although we do cut to an early departing partygoer (Tipper Newton’s Teeny) who is looking after Adam’s and Margo’s kid, that’s largely for the sake of getting a breather from this low-key but emotionally intense home invasion.
“Who Invited Them” is essentially a one-act, one-location play where we hang on the carefully calibrated performances of the four actors.
It’s been done before
Similar but superior entries with this premise include “The Gift” (2015), “Knock Knock” (2015) and this year’s “Gone in the Night.” They feature awkward social situations among strangers where one side of the equation is mysterious and the other side is pretending to overlook the awkwardness.
This year’s “Fresh” also qualifies as a film where someone isn’t who they present themselves to be, and the other person has to adjust.
Those films end up in wildly different places from where they start. “Who Invited Them” is simpler. I guessed early in the game what was really going on. The performances are solid, and the conclusion and “one last scare” aren’t bad on paper. But the overall project is safe. The dialog hints at weird sex and weird violence but Birmingham is shy about getting really creepy on screen.
“Who Invited Them” is what you think it is. Because of similar films, a viewer waits for a big surprise – the true explanation that we couldn’t possibly guess – but it ends up being what anyone can guess. It’s a solid horror film that doesn’t grab its opportunity to be a great one.